About the serviceECHO Supported Living Services is a supported living service providing personal care. The service is registered to support people with autism and/or a learning disability. Each person has their own individual lease agreement with the housing association and a separate contractual agreement for their support.
At the time of our inspection the service was supporting three people living in their own homes in the Walsall area. The service was providing 24-hour support.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and harm. People’s support needs were risk assessed and care plans provided staff with the information they needed to manage the identified risk. The provider carried out recruitment checks to ensure staff were suitable for the role.
Staff had the necessary skills to carry out their role. Staff had regular training opportunities and training specific to people’s individual needs was provided. There was enough staff on duty to support people. People received their medicines as prescribed. Infection control policies and procedures were in place to keep people safe.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way and in their best interests: the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. There was a strong focus on supporting people to be independent, develop their skills and access their local community. This enabled people who used the service to live as full as life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes.
People's individual communication needs were considered to support them to be involved in their care. Systems and processes in place promoted a positive culture in the home. Practices at the service were audited to monitor quality of the care people received and areas of improvement were identified.
Rating at last inspection
This is the first rating of this service. The service was registered with us on 09 January 2020.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection as the service had not previously received a rating.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.